"Neeaay, Neigh neigh neigh, Naaaaa."

The discordant call echoed through the dense woods Jon and Fuss were lost in, tall trees blotted out the sun, and now that evening was near, a gloom had turned each low branch into a reaching, grasping claw.

But the sound of that monster? It was terrible and Jon shivered; but a feeling of protective strength also existed within his mind, and was equally reflected by Fuss. It was their Soul Bond, an invisible link that united man and pug, or rather, lion. And didn't Fuss have the heart of a lion? To be unafraid of this new world, this new life - to think only of protecting Jon.

"We have to be quiet, Fuss." Jon whispered, also trying to send the concept of stealth though the link. Jon felt like the attempt was clumsy, that Pugs thought too differently - and if Jon implied their silence was due to them possibly being eaten? Instead Jon sent the idea of them hunting, crouching down to surprise their prey.

Jon sent this as he ran through to the closest hiding spot he could find, a cache of boulders that he climbed behind, just barely poking his head out from behind them. That's when he heard the voice.

"If you do not find them soon, Nellie, our next target will be the glue factory. Ha, ha. ha."

It was a deep voice, coldly confident and dichotomous to the words Jon had heard, but it was the stranger's appearance that truly surprised him:

It was a tall man with an athletic build, dressed in a suit from the oldest of photographs. Pale skin that seemed to catch the smallest light, revealing an expression so serious, so intense; even though the man was galloping on a stick, not a horse, it was somehow all the more terrifying.

Terrifying because Eli had warned Jon about other players in the Real(m), people that came from Earth, how they acted strange and they wouldn't just kill you.

"I think it's player killer, Fuss." Jon breathed, pulling his head back into concealment and sending Fuss an idea of what they faced - not just death, but this finely dressed stranger gloating as he murdered them, dabbing and dancing to their deaths, only to tea bag their corpses, "I know it's confusing."

The stranger passed but ten yards in front of the hiding spot then suddenly pulled back, "Whoa, whoa Nellie, where's Jon? Speak clearly, you sound a little horse - "

Jon shouted as he burst from behind the boulders, "Eli!" lunging at his friend and wrapping him in a hug. He was here! They were safe! Everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you, Eli. Thank you for saving Fuss, for saving us. Thank you."

----------------------------------------

Elijah's cane suddenly yanked him around, and coming right at him, something was attacking him! A blue skinned face framed in long, silvery hair. Bright white teeth in an open mouth, a baby monster that was mostly fur held at its chest. Elijah had never seen a humanoid so hideous, and he felt the shriek tear out of his throat as he realized he was about to be eaten.

"Eli!"

Of course. It was Jon.

He'd found his best friend, and Elijah wanted to feel that welcome relief not just from finding Jon alive and safe; along with Fuss. But also because he wasn't about to be eaten alive, a terrible experience - except? Seeing what Jon and Fuss had become? Wasn't this almost worse...?

Then Elijah was slammed to the ground in Jon's embrace and squeezed into a bear hug feeling Fuss wiggling between them, Jon thanking him over and over, only to wrestle him into another position to hug him again, shouting about player killers and hungry horses.

"You both made it." Elijah finally got out once free from Jon's enthusiasm, who now lay back panting and petting Fuss, smiling as if the world was right.

Jon nodded, "It's a miracle. A miracle of miracles, and we could never thank you enough, not in a million-"

"It's the opposite, Jon." Elijah said, standing up and brushing himself off, adjusting his suit. And he couldn't quite keep the disappointment from his voice, seeing how Jon looked, "I just wish I could have done a better job preparing you for the Real(m), I'd hoped-"

"You did prepare us, Eli." Jon laughed. He took Elijah's offered hand to pull himself to his feet, "If it wasn't for you? None of this would even be possible." Jon finished by moving his hand to gesture at himself and Fuss, as though Elijah was somehow supposed to be impressed, or even proud at what they'd become.

"Oh, Jon, you can't even begin to understand what you've done. This is the Real(M), not Disneyland. You're going to be chased out of the city with pitchforks, and that's only if you don't get a knife in your back, first."

"It's okay, Eli -"

"It's not. And look at poor Fuss," Elijah stared down at the dog, who you could hardly recognize as a pug anymore. He had a huge wad of tangled hair circling his neck, matted with pine needles and sticks, a long lumpy tail that drug behind him like a dead snake, "What did you do, give him a bloodline? How is that possi-"

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"He's a lion now." Jon exclaimed as he scooped up Fuss, holding him out proudly, "And he loves it, Eli!"

"Ruff!"

"What? No, Jon, that's not how bloodlines work, Fuss isn't a -"

"And he loves it, Eli." Jon repeated, seriously. "Fuss loves being a lion."

"Ruff, ruff!"

And that's when Jon turned right at Elijah, and smiled. And it wasn't a regular smile, either, it was Jon's signature smile. The one he must have picked up from Fuss in their years together. Jon cocked his head, opened his sky blue eyes as wide as they could go, and his normally handsome features would become so innocent, so endearing, Elijah had heard grown men gasp in awe, and the women?

Except now? Jon was so hideous Elijah gasped, stepping back. And Jon's appearance wasn't even the worst of it; because Jon had no weapon to accompany his obvious strength build, he was wearing a blue silky outfit of a Social Class.

Looking like that...

"This can't be happening." Elijah said, feeling his growing concern like a volcanic ulcer.

"You're nose is growing, Eli." Jon said.

"What? No, no it's not."

"Yes it is, it did it again." Jon grinned, "My Ability makes your nose grow if you lie."

"What!?" Elijah shouted, patting his face only to realize Jon was correct, his nose was now a full inch longer. "Turn it off, Jon. Change it back, and turn it off."

"It goes away in a day, Eli." Jon laughed, "Just don't lie and you won't have to worry about it."

Elijah slowly lowered his hands from his face as he tried to understand. How had this terrible day possibly gotten worse? All his carefully laid plans were spinning out of control within moments of contact with Jon - and how was he even surprised?

"Jon." Elijah put steel in his voice, "I want you to listen to me. The Real(m) is not a game. Now we can work with all this, and hopefully even fix it, but only if you can comprehend this most important concept. The Real(m). Is not. A game."

Elijah stared into Jon's eyes, his only unspoiled feature. Then he watched Jon's grin slowly dissolve as his friend bite his lip. And Elijah knew - how stressful it must have been for Jon, scooping up a lifeless Fuss and doing everything he could to save his dog - his brother, as Jon saw it...

Which was why Jon had seized onto the Real(m) in the first place, after all other options were out. When Elijah presented this small hope for Fuss to continue on? Jon hadn't asked questions or stopped to understand the risks...for Fuss? Jon would do anything.

"I know that, Eli." Jon said in a small voice, "But if we can't leave? We're going to make the best of it."

Elijah took the words like a punch in the face. He looked at Jon, trying to find regret or even sadness at being stuck within the Real(m), but there was just that goodness that made up most of Jon's personality.

"For how long, Jon?" Elijah finally asked, filling in the silence.

"Until his mind heals." Jon replied, "I got an Ability, Soul Bond, and there's a part of my mind in Fuss. It's like a bandage and it's fixing him. There's a part of his mind in me, too, and we can feel what each other is thinking - I mean, we always could, but it's just more real now, you know?"

Fascinating.

"But Soul Bond has a bar. It says it's at one percent. When it fills all the way up, Fuss will be okay again."

"Oh. I see." Elijah whispered, relieved Jon wasn't stuck in the Real(m) forever. But then suddenly Jon's other decisions made sense, "Damn it, Jon, I'm sorry. Of course you'd choose something like a Merchant. If you stay in the city you don't need a weapon - and why risk death causing a setback to Soul Bond? Nobody is gonna rob you if they're afraid of you, and you'll have no problem making enough coin to support yourself. Hell, looking exotic is a smart play for a merchant out here once people get over their fear."

Elijah shook his head at how wrong he'd been, how quick to judge. Was this why his Destiny had changed? Because he'd given up everything to help Jon, only to find Jon didn't even need his help. That Jon already had a plan of his own, a good plan, even...Was this Comedy to the Real(m)? This tragic, terrible irony?

"You're not mad, Eli?"

"No, Jon." Elijah sighed and shook his head, "I mean I'm disappointed. But that's on me, I just thought we'd be adventuring. Taking risks. I'd be showing you the Real(m), exploring, teaching you how to survive, not selling cantaloupes."

Jon smiled a little.

Eli continued, "It doesn't matter, this isn't about me, it's about you, about Fuss. We'll do whatever we need to get him well again, whatever it takes."

Elijah felt Jon's arms crash around him again, and if he thought Jon had hugged him before, now his back popped, his ribs groaned, and he felt a wetness slip down his suit collar to land at the base of his neck. He waited for a sob in awkward stillness but none came, and when Jon pulled away his eyes were bright, his voice clear.

"Thank you, Eli." Jon nodded, he sounded relieved, "I was really worried you wouldn't like my Class -"

"No, Jon." Elijah shook his head, feeling guilt over what he'd said, what he'd thought, and causing Jon -

"-because I didn't choose Merchant."

"What."

"Fuss, he doesn't really like Cities. And he definitely didn't like the idea of Merchant, I mean, Eli? He's a lion, how would he even make change? He doesn't have fingers. And even if he did?" Jon finished in a whisper, like Fuss was sensitive about what he was saying, "He doesn't know how to count."

"Ruff!"

Elijah felt his eyes widen, and his throat suddenly felt dry and scratchy -

"And you've always said the Real(m) was like the Jungle, wild and dangerous."

"No, Jon!" Elijah gasped, but it was already too late. Jon wasn't glowing, he was emanating. And Elijah felt the thunder of hoofbeats, a tribal chanting, the intro to a movie he remembered seeing as a child - when life was still good and innocent and the world felt fair and safe. A movie starring a lion.

"And as we know, in the Jungle - One animal stands above the rest. One animal is feared the most. One animal is the best!"

Jon's Aura Ability - or rather Royal Aura Ability, pushed down on Elijah like a torrential rain, trying to force him to kneel - to give obeisance to royal blood as Jon grinned and gibbered in mocking laughter just as that stupid blue monkey had. Then Jon scooped up Fuss and held him high overhead - just as Simba had been.

"It's Fuss. The Lion King!"

"Damn it, Jon. Lion's don't even live in the Jungle."

"They don't?"

"We have to run, Jon. There's a suicide button in your menu, it's hidden unless you think about it. Use it if you get captured, I'm not strong enough to break you out."

"What's wrong, Eli?"

Elijah grabbed Jon's arm, tugging him - away from the city, away from the danger that was coming.

"You used a Royal Aura Ability in somebody else's Kingdom. You just took a shit on the King's desk."

"Oh. I didn't know that." Jon said as he scrambled to keep up, Fuss tucked under his arm like a football, his lumpy tail dragging behind, "I don't think I like this game, Eli."